European Finance Chiefs Hit Out at U.S. Tax Plans

The finance chiefs of Europe's five largest economies on Monday warned the U.S. against tax plans that might violate the country's double taxation treaties and could be at odds with world trade rules.

In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and seen by The Wall Street Journal, the ministers said that while tax legislation is an essential pillar of a state's sovereignty, countries should respect international rules.

"While the establishment of a modern, competitive and robust tax system is one of the essential pillars of a state's sovereignty, it is important that the U.S. government's rights over domestic tax policy be exercised in a way that adheres with international obligations to which it has signed-up," the ministers wrote in the letter.

"The inclusion of certain less conventional international tax provisions could contravene the U.S.'s double taxation treaties and may risk having a major distortive impact on international trade," they added.

The letter was signed by Germany's acting Finance Minister Peter Altmaier, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, his Italian counterpart Pier Carlo Padoan, Spain's Budget Minister Cristóbal Montoro and the U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond.

Write to Andrea Thomas at andrea.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2017 09:09 ET (14:09 GMT)